Hong Kong ex-No. 2 sells rare wines

HONG KONG – A former Hong Kong politician sold off part of his rare wine collection for more than $6 million, auction house Christie’s said Sunday, after a scandal over a wine cellar at his home was partly blamed for his loss in last year’s leadership race.

The city’s former No. 2, Henry Tang, was set to become its chief executive in 2012 until a series of gaffes and the discovery of an illegal basement containing the illegal cellar at his luxury home made him deeply unpopular.

Though there were thousands of bottles on offer, they represented just a small portion of Tang’s collection, the auction house said. “He’s at a point where there’s enough wine that he can share them with joy,” said Christie’s head of wine in China, Simon Tam.

In an interview with Tang last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that none of the bottles in the Christie’s sale were stored in the cellar.